Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism

Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism uses the inflammatory tactics of the Fox News Channel to demonstrate the conservative bias that's handed down by Fox's owner, media mogul Rupert Murdoch. The documentary gathers interviews from media watchdogs and former Fox employees (including a former anchor, Jon Du Pre, who describes his flailing efforts to create a celebration for Reagan's birthday when the one he was sent to cover never materialized), but their overwhelming condemnation of Fox's skewed news practices isn't half as effective as footage taken directly from Fox itself--an appalling montage of pundit Bill O'Reilly telling guests to shut up.

35 Comments / User Reviews

First and foremost I like to say I have enjoyed everyone's comments. I found each comment to be intelligent, witty and informative, this applies to those comments I disagreed with as well as those I supported. It was refreshing to see vulgar language used to insult missing from these comments. I do hope this trend will continue.
Truth Has No Agenda you have a valid point about looking into George Soros who is responsible for the making of this documentary. I will indeed make it a point to research him to see for myself what motivates his actions. I cannot however overlook some of the underhanded methods Fox news uses nor can the behavior of their "journalists" be swept under the rug. What am I referring to? Well some people say... Oh wait a minute, Bill O'Reilly just told me to SHUT UP!
Your question So what? concerning Fox news being a right wing news network would be valid if Fox news presented itself as a right wing news network. It doesn't, it presents itself as a "fair and balanced" news source the kind where "we report you decide" news channel. I watched a reporter question a group of people who volunteered to partake in a study on where they get their facts from when making a decision on whom they will give their vote. An older woman said she gets her info from Fox, when asked why she said simply "Because they are fair and balanced." Do you see the problem? She thinks Fox is fair and balanced because she was told by Fox it was fair and balanced yet it behaves as a right wing news source. It is wrong to look like a fox, act like a fox, then tell all of the chickens you are the new chicken hired to protect them during night shift. Yes the chickens should have thought it through but that doesn't make the fox any less predatory.

Wow! What a bunch of sore losers. Is it any wonder that they hate Fox? Their combined ratings are in the tank compared to Fox. Fox News must be the network that liberals love to hate. Just look at the comments posted here. After listening to my liberal friends rail against Fox. I came to the conclusion that they follow Fox closer than I do.

Truly brilliant doccie, well worth watching if for nothing else to see how the weasle phrase 'Some people say" is abused so often by this propaganda machine pretending to be a news channel. Pity they didn't cover "Experts agree" as well. Edward Bernays would be so proud of Fox (spews)...

FOX News is an organization that exists for one reason, to make money.
They have made a niche for themselves by trying to represent the right-wing point of view in? an overall liberal media. They don't care
about promoting right-wing ideals; they care about making
money by exploiting them. FOX News DOES NOT represent right-wing
philosophy. They're a satire of right-wing philosophy. And when you
watch and believe in FOX News as a right-winger, then you are being made out to be a fool.

I presume his majesty particularly enjoys the "muddied message" of unconditional support for Israel, as opposed to the rights of Palestinians? If hypocrisy like that fluffs up his pillows and sweetens his dreams at night, who are the 47% to argue? Ecrasez l'infame.

avd420
- 08/01/2013 at 17:08

Wait... what!?

GreggMorr
- 02/02/2014 at 21:24

Correction: FOX exists to be a voice and influence for right-wing extremists. It has done a good job, with help from right leaning m*rons that you call "the overall liberal media."

avd420
- 02/03/2014 at 00:42

For your statement to be a correction it must first be correct.

Robert Fairhurst
- 07/28/2012 at 21:52

So where is any kind of left wing media? Why does the right dominate the media so much? (OK, I know because corporations control the media and corporations are right wing, but at least 50% of the people would be interested in watching some kind of left sided news I am sure

Bang on Dead_Head. The money should be taken out of politics altogether. Ban all lobbying(in the UK I think the masses are only just realising that this takes place), the only people who should be able to sway politicians are the individual tax-payers. No politician should be able to consult for companies while in office, doesn't matter if it's a family owned bakery or a large corporation, it's simply a conflict of interests. Also slash the wages of politicians, therefore weeding out the greedy and corrupt and attracting the sort of people happy to represent us for a fair wage. I'd like to see real world people representing us, the sort of people you know have come from the same place as you, faced the same hardships. How can I take seriously anything the David Camerons of the world say, at what point in their over indulged childhood did they become qualified to represent the everyday family. These people are there for the power, the money and the benefits that all come along with politics today. I'm sure there are many who started out their political careers with the best of intentions, but I find myself wondering how long can they stand up to the corrupt system before they buckle or are replaced with more corporate yes men. I apologize for this being totally off point for this documentary, just had to vent it. When it comes to the main stream media I totally avoid it. If there is a story I'm interested in I would much rather gather information from several more reliable sources, compare them and route out the facts much as a historian would. Ignore this left and right nonsense, nothing is as simple as black and white, not even black and white. I do find it encouraging however to see people turning to great sites like this and discussing these points, educating themselves and others at the same time. I'd rather disagree with a well informed individual than an id**t who gets all their information from the Murdochs of the world.

Dead_Head, I could not have said it bettr myself! You are right on! fox news and its twisted media myths driven into newspapers paid for by yours truely, the King of Big Journalism, Rupert Murdoch, are about 60% fiction. If I want to read fiction, I'll curl up in bed with a good Sydney Sheldon book and a bowl of popcorn! The sad thing is, how many Americans might actually believe the media myths

OCCUPYSUPPORTER
- 12/15/2011 at 22:07

Hi Terri - Rupert Murdoch was interviewed 1am OPB.PBS on Dec 6th. He admitted that Fox News Evening addition presentation was Opinions and is meant for entertainment not "news" and that they are commentators not journalists. When questioed if this was "right" he said he thought that it was alright as long as it is clear that the information is opinion only. I dont think that their dedicated viewers realize this at all, they quote Fox news as if it were the gospel. He said that Americans want entertainment and they need to give the American people what they want. I asked MoveOn to find the video and post this portion where he is admitting that it is "Opinion" only. It is wrong to intentionally deceive the American People and I wish something could be done about it. They should be required to announce that this is only OPINION at the beginning of the show.

Justin_Funski
- 10/02/2011 at 14:34

Sad but true that political corruption / bribery is legal in America. When called "lobbying," Congress is owned not by the people but by corporations.

I know the agenda of this already when you conveniently forget to tell people George Soros paid for this so called 'documentary. You lose any credibility you might have had because of leaving out that VERY IMPORTANT fact. It's like saying 'doctors' say smoking is good for you when the 'doctors' are getting paid by the big tobacco companies to say that. Why don't you do a 'documentary' on how far far left wing progressive MSNBC is? And have far left CNN is? After all Ted Turner was married to Hanoi Jane so we know he is far far left too. What is you point? ABC, CBS, NBC (got Obama elected), CNN & MSNBC are FAR left and Fox is conservative right? so what? Fox doesn't hide it all the other networks hide it. They will never admit they are far left. For the uninformed who don't know George Soros just Google George Soros and see what comes up. Worlds 35th richest evil man and 14th richest American. He is worth 14 billion+ and controls another 30-40 billion of other peoples money. He is Rupert Murdock arch enemy. He pays 100 so called 'journalist' to do nothing but attack Fox News. The organization is Media Matters. In several countries in the world call Soros an economic terrorist and if he were to step foot in their country again he would be arrested and executed. He broke the Bank of England in 1992 and made 1 billion dollars in 1 day. He backs over 500 way left progressive organizations around the world. Since 1979 he has spent $7 billion dollars funding those groups to get what he wants done. So to leave out the fact this was paid for by Soros gives away your agenda which is no where near the truth.

"Truth has no agenda"....you bring up some very valid points indeed. I'd say though, the moral of your insight is, whether we see "far left" or "far right" does not quite matter, both sides of political spectrum seemingly as corrupt as the other (although I personally think the so called "conservatives" more corrupt than "liberals". It's like two rabid wolves fighting over a wounded animal, the latter being we, the American people. Everybody here is smart, we all need to google things on our own time after reading the crap in newspapers, make our own conclusions based on sound research....but then the research can get skewed too. It's like going to the "best Hemotologist" in the area and realizing he gave us a remedy not quite in line with our genetic make-up/family history, and need to do our homework. Oh no R2D2, I fear we are all doomed!

saluspublicasalusmea
- 01/10/2012 at 23:46

What a missjudgement. "ABC, CBS, NBC got obama elected"? No, G.W Bush's failed and disturbingly corrupt policies got him elected. These networks you mention are nothing even comparable to Fox "News". They're just sensationalist network like most are today, of course there's some opinion but it's absolutely insignificant in proportion and comparison with Fox whose broadcasts are stupifying the american people on a daily basis. You say that the documentary is financed by Murdoch's archenemy, I'm sure you're right but does that make any of the content not featuring former employees (like statistics and actual takes from Fox) any less true? Does it?

David
- 05/12/2011 at 12:45

Typical Nazi propaganda techniques . . . . They managed to make the best out of media for brainwashing people . . . and how much people actually believe the fairytale's told by the news, and obvious propaganda TV Channels, shows the level of IQ of the person/people watvching it . . . cos only people give the power to this kind of - - - - should I say strategies, people with their ability to think with their own heads, to look for information from MANY sources and then deciding for them selves, what "the story is" - - - one thing for sure, I don't watch TV AT ALL, not even history Channel, nor Discovery channel any more, simply cos I saw couple of documentaries there, that were clearly trying to make US fairytels about 9/11 to sound as "truth" - - - I wonder why these TV's ( for example ) - - - companies, broadcast networks, or what ever they are - - - didn't show Zeitgesit, or any other contrawersial documentary that is found on the internet.
From watching countles of documentaries, reading countles reports, forums . . .ectr. I learned one thing, how to go through most things that are political brainwashing crap ( No matter what the issue is, or for who's side the issue is being presented for or agianst ). This documentary is good, and it is interesting to watch it . . . Simply cos it is nice entertainment for me, cos what has been told here . . . well I already know for years, about the techniques, and coruption of news - - - For me there are to few good reporters, and if they are actually deceant, they got their careers ruined or they simply get killed, what's left are simply litlle drones, who sold their souls to the highest bidder. I got more respect for hookers, then for any politician, cos they are worthless, and I got a bit more respect for journalists, that rate in my book just below politicians . . . ( I admit that there are exceptions, and I am happy that there still are in journalism buisness, those will not find them selves in my coments ).

Ya but,... "Some people say" fox is " Good journalism, Fair and balanced"........

Terri Lynn Sullivan
- 11/21/2011 at 06:13

ha ha! Anyone that thinks fox is "fair and balanced" is not quite fair and balanced in the head......they are the true "dead_heads", our dead-head friend on these post an enlightened head!

kf
- 02/23/2011 at 05:31

first off i think this doc. should be listed under media.
fox may very well be a conservative propagada machine but first and for most they are a entertainment- media organization. they do something others don't, they compile their diverse information into one outlet. nbc however has mutilple outlets cnbc, nbc, msnbc. wheres the weather? this is what draws veiwers to fox, a little of everthing without flipping channels. but what i don't understand and i hope someone here will fill me in, 25 years ago my parents were still alive and ran several small retail businesses and they were not allowed by law to broadcast anything to the public even a radio channel in a waiting room. when i go to most retail stores and resturants it seems they are broadcasting FOX news, is this legal now? to me this is indoctrination at its best. for those who like to argue if a media orginazation is party leaning, it is not a concern for me. i just want the facts and the reporting as independant as possible. this forces me to watch several networks even rely on foriegn news sources. the other question i have to commenters is, should a broadcaster be held criminally accountable for publicly and purposely misleading on air with intent to cuase fear? it seems to me this is no different than making a terrorist threat.

Rupert Murdoch is without a doubt, a scummy corporate elite and much of FOX news is pure trash, but this documentary lacks any true coherence or direction. They also fail to acknowledge that although Murdoch is fairly 'conservative', he recognizes himself as 'liberal' in some publications and many of his press outlets are liberal. So the real evil, here, is not that he's selling any one viewpoint en masse, but that he's playing ALL the cards.

if that is true about harper trying to bring faux to canada. im going to protest the sh** out. you can join me if you want to. f*** faux news, really hope the young america is not sucked into this propaganda spewing sh** of a "news station".

Just look at Fox News and its loyal viewers, this is the 21th century, and it is shocking that a News Organization can use basic common fallacies to seduce its viewers.

It is simple, Fox News owner knows there are segment in the U.S population, that have a particular view of the government and everyone else that does not look or act like them; they are mostly Republicans, they are mostly White, they are mostly in the South.

So how does Fox News profit from this?

Normally a news organization reports facts and figures so their viewers can make their own opinions, but in Fox News, they twist the facts and lie so the stories support the pre-conceived opinion of their viewers. Just google "Fox lies" and see for yourself the endless example of clips people have composed.

It became so effective that Fox News can now say that there is no Sun, and their viewers will keep their loyalty and don't confront them, they have taken on a tribal mentality. Every other station is the "enemy liberal media". Use words like "elite" or "liberal" to identify the other.

You say "elite"? The Australian billionaire owner is laughing his way to the bank.

Yes! I try to watch a little of all news shows, CNN mostly, MSNBC, Fox, and PBS. Next, I read books, watch documentaries and ask people questions; all people, not just people who I agree with. I don't think we can trust any news to report accurately (case and point: no reporting on Halliburton--and I'm still trying to figure out how Maxine Waters is such a big story even though Halliburton never was). We have to take the info we get, synethsize it with other info, and come to or own conclusions about what's really going on. Yes, this means we have to think for ourselves and not just take what these people say at face value!

@FLGuy, if that were true, then why were ALL media networks virtually silent on the build-up to the Iraq War? Why did none of them properly question or investigate the claims of WMDs in Iraq? Why did they do no investigation or raise any issue to the Constitutional rights overrided by the PATRIOT Act? Why did no one report on the lucrative no-bid contracts awarded to Halliburton and its subsidiary KBR, which was connected very heavily with high levels of the Bush administration (Cheney was the former CEO of Halliburton and still received a stipend)? Why was more media attention given to the Clinton impeachment fiasco than to allegations of torture and war crimes leading to the highest levels of the Bush administration?

The myth of the liberal media is one that was spread by Rupert Murdoch and the right-wing noise machine.

Have you ever stopped to think you might be confusing liberal media (as in media that is free to report facts) with the Liberal or Democratic political parties? Just because the two share a common word doesn't mean they are related. Although there are no doubt a few outlets with political connections to liberal parties, the main reason most mainstream news services seem to be on one side and Fox News on the other is that they rely on journalism and acknowledged facts, while Fox relies on sensationalism and political spin. The dividing line doesn't have anywhere as much to do with politics as it does with truth and integrity. The idea of a Liberal (capitalized) media is an invention of American Republican pundits and politicians, serving only as an imaginary enemy and rallying point for ignorant viewers.

Interesting documentary. I would like to see a documentary that shows how the main stream media, other than FOX, ie. MSNBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, ad PBS do exactly the opposite. They bury any Conservative stories and slant absolutely everything to the Liberal side. If FOX was not available, we would have zero opposing viewpoints. I guess that is why FOX is the #1 rated station...if you turn on any other news station it is inck-step with the Liberal agenda. Same with most newspapers and magazines.

Great documentary. People need to watch this and look into the subject further. Media has an enormous amount of influence on our opinions, which we seem to accept instead of investigating for ourselves.

Adam and others, actually everyone here. THANK YOU for "getting it"! So refreshing to see people who can actually think outside the box. I especially appreciate the comment made about the unknown "truth" about 9/11, indeed, after we spend trillions on wars for profits into the Halliburton's of the world (that's another thing, Halliburton never mentioned anywhere out there in media, the inconvenient truth conveiently buried purposely) The media, after all, are being paid off by industry pundits and its been the way through the years to keep the majority of the American people in the dark, to manipulate their minds, play on their emotions. This politically polarized nation so war torn, families cannot even gather to chat without some political comment pissing each other off. Why don't one of YOU run for President, that would solve all our problems, as our present incumbent seems bent on using the rhetoric like a puppet on a string "we are fighting for freedom and security". Hah?